Trafford Middle to perform ‘Finding Nemo Jr.’ with puppets made by Seton Hill students

When the Trafford Middle School drama club performs “Finding Nemo Jr.” next week, actors from the 50-person cast and crew will carry puppets created by theater design and technology students at Seton Hill University.

Local middle and high school programs often rent puppets or other stage materials from the university, said Lisa Leibering, associate professor for costume design and technology. But this is the first time her students have designed new pieces for a specific production.

“What we’re trying to do is essentially create this puppet rental closet,” she said.

The 23 puppets produced for the show include eight hand puppets and 15 rod puppets, three of which feature a trigger-controlled mouth, Leibering said. Most of the puppets are made with soft fabrics and foam, often decorated with sequins and holographic details.

Students rehearsed without the puppets until about three weeks before the show, which will run March 15, 16 and 17. Director Janice Ruoff said her students were excited to see the puppets come in.

“It’s really exciting for the kids, because they don’t have to dress up as a fish,” said Ruoff, who teaches sixth grade math at Trafford. “At the middle school level, that can be really awkward. They don’t like to dress up as this thing or that thing if it’s going to make them feel like people are going to make fun of them.”

The drama club is paying Seton Hill a fee to use the puppets, which will be returned to the university when the show wraps. But the cost to rent puppets elsewhere, even just for a few weeks, could add up to $6,000 to $8,000, Leibering said.

Springdale Junior-Senior High School in Allegheny County, for example, paid Seton Hill just $500 to use the university’s Audrey II puppets for their production of “Little Shop of Horrors.”

For Leibering, collaborating with drama clubs at local schools is an opportunity to talk to her students about what artists bring to their communities.

“We’re viewing this as a service to our larger arts community, as well as our young people in theater,” Leibering said.

Some of Leibering’s students plan to attend “Finding Nemo Jr.” to watch their art at work, she said.

Although some puppets are easy for one actor to manage, others require multiple people to carry them across the stage. The puppets for Bruce, Anchor and Chum — the three sharks Marlin and Dory encounter on their way to rescue Nemo — are held by three actors each, with the lead voice actor at the head. The puppet for Crush, a sea turtle who helps Marlin and Dory navigate to Sydney Harbor, is six feet in diameter, Ruoff said.

Assistant Director Abby Lanzelotti has enjoyed watching the students transition to using the puppets in rehearsals.

“Watching them do it without us telling them what to do is the coolest part, I think, because they are starting to adapt to the stage,” said Lanzelotti, a student learning assistant at Penn Middle School.

Despite the whirlwind of activity, Ruoff said she often looks forward to the final weeks of rehearsal, where her students gain a renewed sense of urgency for the show.

“It is a really nice transformation, because when we are done with the entire process and they have finished the show, you can say to them comfortably ‘Wow, you’ve become this different person, and you’ve matured and made friends. You’ve found a space where you’re comfortable and can express your creativity in a new and unique way,’” Ruoff said.

“For me, the most exciting part is to see those kids have a place where they can express themselves and become the best version of who they can be.”